He read his first word when he was two years old. The word was Ford and it wasn't on the car but on a poster advertising a Harrison Ford film. That was how I knew he was reading.

Bevin reads everything: from information on milk packages to colorful street signs. I use his good eyesight to help me read the tiny ingredient texts on food packaging in the store so I don’t have to dig out my reading glasses. His favorite reading material is the Swedish Kalle Anka Tidning (Donald Duck comic book). He gets it every week and has the entire collection from 1999 organized by year. He also loves the Artemos Fowl series, has read Lord of the Rings, loved the Michael Crichton book Timeline and I think if I put some effort into it I can make him a real Science Fiction lover.

If Bevin lived in the States he would be a spelling bee pro. He never spells a word wrong either in English or Swedish. Good to have around because I’ve now learned to spell poorly in 2 languages.

The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Bevin is COMPUTER. And yes he is a computer nerd right down to his big toes. He’s been fascinated with the computer since he was 2 years old and learned that he could press a key on the keyboard and get an alphabet letter on the screen.

Bevin's clothing philosophy is very simple. It has to be comfortable or he won't wear it. How it looks is of secondary importance. He has no interest in wearing something because it’s cool. His grandma is intent on having him dress in a suit for his Bar Mitzvah. But when you are as skinny as a rail and all arms and legs, finding a suit to fit will be a challenge. When Håkan and I look at Bevin we recognize ourselves. It may be hard to believe but we were also long skinny drinks of water at that age too.

Bevin takes after us in more than looks. Like his mother he hates change. In his room, he still has the car he used to ride on when he was 1 year old. And when he builds something in Lego, he might as well glue the parts together because he refuses to take them apart and is devastated if they break. Like his father, Bevin is very technical and finds it interesting to learn how things work. One of Bevin's favorite books is one that I bought Håkan for his 40th birthday, The Way Things Work. Its gotten very dog-eared by now.

Throughout this past year Bevin has insisted that he is only doing this Bar Mitzvah because I’ve been forcing him to. (but what’s a Jewish mother for if not to force her son to do things) But when he sings the blessings he’s been learning or his Torah portion for us, I can see that he takes pride in what he’s accomplished and learned. And my heart bursts with pride.